A Free Hanukkah Activity

 When I taught my ESL students in Alaska I always included a December holiday unit. My students loved

Hanukkah the most because I taught them how to play Dreidel and had purchased some plastic ones for them to use. I also used pennies (which they couldn't keep but turned in for candy) so that I could include a math lesson at the same time. At the end of the school year we always had a party and when I asked them what kinds of games they wanted to play they all shouted out "Dreidel." I was so surprised that they had remembered the game and truly loved playing it. I still think about those students and how much fun they had.

This year Hanukkah begins on December 9th and lasts for 8 days. Sometimes it overlaps with Christmas but it usually comes before students are on Christmas break. If you include Hanukkah when you teach December holidays and would like a set of these Picture/Word Cards (B/W version included) just click on the picture above. This is one activity that is included in my new packet, Hanukkah: A Festival of Lights.

It includes a Shared Reading Book about Hanukkah, 2 Reading Texts and Comprehension Questions at the 2nd and 3rd Grade levels, 2 Sets of Picture/Word or Picture/Fact Cards, 2 Sets of Writing Prompts for 2nd and 3rd Grades, 2 Graphic Organizers and a Hanukkah Acrostic Poem. It is perfect for the Differentiated Reading and Writing levels in your classrooms. You can check it out by clicking on the picture above. I hope to get a K-1 packet together by this weekend.

Thanks for all you do to make a difference for your students.

What December holidays do you teach?

"Snow, Let's Go!": A Free Fun Snow Poem to Get Your Class Excited About Snow!

This post can be seen HERE

With the Thanksgiving Holiday over and Winter on the way I wanted to share a new Snow Poem with all of my wonderful followers and viewers. As most of you know I love creating and writing poems. Some of you may have already seen some snow but we all know that kids love snow. This poem is part of my new Snow Poetry Unit for 1st and 2nd grade and is aligned with CCSS.  I had so much fun creating this packet and after you download your freebie by clicking on the image above I hope you will check out my poetry unit by clicking on the image below which is just part of what you will find in my unit. You can preview the whole packet when you download the preview at my store.

How often do you teach poems in your classroom?

Integrating Writing with a Free Winter Journal Activity

Winter is right around the corner or for many of you it feels like it has already begun. It's a great time to get outside with your students and see all the changes that happen when winter comes. Although not everyone experiences the cold and snow we all experience the shorter days and longer nights as well as cooler temperatures. As part of my new Winter Unit called "What Happens in Winter?" I've included this "My Winter Journal" Activity so that your students can go outside and draw and write about what they see and feel during the winter. There are 3 different journal pages included depending on your students' writing levels. You can do this for a few weeks or throughout the winter. What a great way to incorporate ELA CCSS into a Science activity. When your journals are complete you can have students compare and contrast the changes from the time they began their journals until they finished.You can talk about how these changes can affect animals and plants. Just click on the picture at the top of the post to download your free Winter Journal.You can also check out my Winter Unit which includes a Shared Reading Book called "What Happens in Winter?" and 3 Mini Make and Take Books about winter at the K, 1st and 2nd Grade levels . There are also 3 different levels of Comprehension Questions and Writing Activities. This unit is designed for K-2 and is perfect for  the Differentiated Classroom, Multi-level Classrooms and ESL students. You can check it out by clicking on the picture below.

You may also like my winter words edition of Don't Get Skunked  which includes the winter vocabulary words from my Winter unit. You can see more my clicking on the picture below.

Thanks for all you do to make a difference for your students.

What winter activities do you enjoy doing with your students?

Free Thanksgiving Resources, Lessons and Activities

This post has been moved and updated. Click HERE to see the new post. Thank you.

Are you looking for some great free resources for Thanksgiving?  I found a lot of information at National Geographic Kids about The First Thanksgiving. It is an easy read for your students. There are links to other activities as well. Just click on the picture above.

If you are looking for some great Thanksgiving Books to read to your students, lesson plans, poems, books , crafts, math centers to make and so much more just click on the picture above to access some awesome ideas.There are so many great activities for more than a week.

As some of you know I was part of a giveaway last week with my  blogging buddies. If you missed out you can still download my November Celebrations Free Picture/Word Match by clicking on the picture below.

It is part of my November Celebrations Packet which you can check out by clicking on the picture below.

I have one more freebie for you from my new "Gobbling Up Thanksgiving Literacy Centers. You can check it out by clicking on the picture below. It includes Picture/Word Cards, Picture/Word Cut and Paste Match,
Thanksgiving Words Sort, Making Sentences with Sentence Frames, Writing and Illustrating Sentences, Writing Sentences with Thanksgiving Words and.........

my freebie Thanksgiving Adjective Turkey which you can download by clicking on the picture below.

I am truly thankful for all of you and hope this is a special Thanksgiving holiday for you and your families.
Thanks for all you to make a difference for your students.
                                                 

                                                

What kinds of activities are you doing with your students?